Top Stories

  • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) privately told Senate Republicans that he warned the Trump administration not to reach a deal with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on a coronavirus economic relief package before the Nov. 3 election, according to three sources. His comments suggest that even if ongoing negotiations between Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin yield progress, the Senate would likely not vote on an agreed package until after the elections. (The Washington Post)
  • The White House has been pressuring the government to fast-track a lucrative contract to lease the Department of Defense’s mid-band spectrum, a lucrative 5G market, to Rivada Networks, a company that’s backed by prominent Republicans and supporters of President Donald Trump, according to senior officials. Karl Rove, a veteran Republican strategist and lobbyist for the company, said it would not accept a no-bid contract if offered one. (CNN)
  • Court-appointed lawyers tasked with identifying families who were pulled apart by the Trump administration’s child separation policy at the U.S.-Mexico border have not been able to find the parents of 545 migrant children, according to a court filing. The court filing also said about two-thirds of the parents were deported back to Central America without their children. (NBC News)
  • Trump maintains foreign bank accounts in Great Britain, Ireland and China, all of which do not appear on his public financial disclosures because they’re held under corporate names, according to an analysis of the president’s tax records. Trump has sought to cast Democratic nominee Joe Biden as soft on China pointing to his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings there, even as his own business history is full of foreign business deals, some of which involve Chinese businesses. (The New York Times)

Chart Review

Events Calendar (All Times Local)

10/21/2020
The Economic Club of Washington, D.C., hosts online event on the 2020 elections 10:00 am
Secretary of State Pompeo holds news conference 11:00 am
Justice Department officials hold news conference 11:00 am
Sen. Harris campaigns in Asheville, N.C. 11:55 am
Senate session 12:00 pm
Vice President Pence holds campaign rally in New Hampshire 1:30 pm
Former President Obama campaigns for Biden in Pennsylvania 5:45 pm
Vice President Pence holds campaign rally in Ohio 6:00 pm
Trump holds campaign rally in North Carolina 7:00 pm
10/22/2020
Senate Judiciary Committee votes on Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination 9:00 am
FiscalNote and CQ Roll Call host online event on the home stretch of the 2020 elections 2:00 pm
AEI hosts online event on reopening college campuses 4:15 pm
Final presidential debate 9:00 pm
10/23/2020
Rep. Brown participates in Brookings Institution online event on the defense industrial base 10:00 am
Urban Institute hosts online event on housing and the pandemic 11:00 am
Energy secretary participates in CSIS online event 1:00 pm
NIH director participates in National Press Club online event 2:00 pm
View full calendar
A MESSAGE FROM ROBINHOOD

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Stock owners are becoming younger and more diverse—by a lot.

So we’re meeting people with free, truly digestible financial news. Educational resources that are human, simple, and straightforward. And an app that helps you invest at your own pace, on your own terms.

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2020

Biden Enters Last Stretch With $114 Million Cash Edge Over Trump
Bill Allison, Bloomberg

Joe Biden’s campaign entered October with a war chest that was almost three times larger than President Donald Trump’s, solidifying the Democratic nominee’s advantage in the final weeks of the campaign. The campaigns’ latest filings with the Federal Election Commission show that Biden had $177.3 million in the bank at the end of last month.

Election officials in at least two states contact law enforcement after threatening emails sent to voters
Curt Devine et al., CNN

Elections officials in Florida and Alaska contacted law enforcement Tuesday after registered voters reported receiving threatening emails that said, “Vote for Trump or else!” The emails came from an address that appeared to be affiliated with a far-right group, though an analyst who reviewed one email obtained by CNN said it had been sent using foreign internet infrastructure.

Obama goes full throttle for Biden
Holly Otterbein, Politico

There were lots of logical states for Joe Biden to roll out the biggest weapon in his campaign arsenal. But he chose to deploy former President Barack Obama to Pennsylvania for the latter’s first in-person event in 2020, perhaps the clearest sign yet that Biden’s team sees the state as the most important piece of the Electoral College map.

Bloomberg knocks Trump back on his heels in Florida
Marc Caputo and David Siders, Politico

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s $100 million investment in Florida to defeat Donald Trump is recasting the presidential contest in the president’s must-win state, forcing his campaign to spend big to shore up his position and freeing up Democratic cash to expand the electoral map elsewhere. Bloomberg’s massive advertising and ground-game spending, which began roughly a month ago, has thrown Trump into a defensive crouch across the arc of Sunbelt states.

Melania Trump cancels plans to attend Tuesday rally citing Covid recovery
Kate Bennett, CNN

Melania Trump is canceling her first campaign appearance in months because she is not feeling well as she continues to recover from Covid-19. She had been set to join President Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night, but she has decided not to go.

GOP Welcomes Steve Wynn’s Millions, Despite Rape And Harassment Allegations
Tom Dreisbach, NPR News

A major political donor, who just two years ago was forced out of his position as Finance Chair of the Republican National Committee, has contributed millions of dollars this election cycle to Republican candidates and political action committees aligned with the party. Steve Wynn’s political contributions were once seen as toxic.

Trump Called The $10 Million A Loan. His Campaign Called It A Donation. Who Paid It Back, And How?
Ken Bensinger and Kadia Goba, BuzzFeed News

As the 2020 presidential campaign hurtles toward a close, questions remain about a last-minute, $10 million lifeline Trump threw to his previous campaign, the one that catapulted him into the presidency. Speculation has swirled around the source of that money, with one report suggesting Trump might have gotten the funds from a casino magnate looking for help building a bullet train from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.

Lawyers spurn Trump campaign in individual donations, including from Jones Day
Rick Linsk, Reuters

Lawyers at Jones Day, which has earned millions as outside counsel to U.S. President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, have donated nearly $90,000 to the campaign committee of Trump’s Democratic rival Joe Biden. Contributions to the Trump campaign by Jones Day lawyers totaled just $50, records show.

White House & Administration

White House looks at cutting Covid funds, newborn screenings in ‘anarchist’ cities
Brianna Ehley and Rachel Roubein, Politico

The White House is considering slashing millions of dollars for coronavirus relief, HIV treatment, screenings for newborns and other programs in Democratic-led cities that President Donald Trump has deemed “anarchist jurisdictions,” according to documents obtained by POLITICO. New York, Portland, Ore., Washington, D.C., and Seattle could lose funding for a wide swath of programs that serve their poorest, sickest residents after the president moved last month to restrict funding, escalating his political battle against liberal cities he’s sought to use as a campaign foil.

Trump ups pressure on Barr to probe Bidens as election nears
Aamer Madhani and Colleen Long, The Associated Press

President Donald Trump on Tuesday called on Attorney General William Barr to immediately launch an investigation into unverified claims about Democrat Joe Biden and his son Hunter, effectively demanding that the Justice Department muddy his political opponent and abandon its historic resistance to getting involved in elections. With just two weeks to go before Election Day, Trump for the first time explicitly called on Barr to investigate the Bidens and even pointed to the nearing Nov. 3 election as reason that Barr should not delay taking action.

FBI says it has ‘nothing to add’ to Ratcliffe’s remarks about Hunter Biden, Russian disinformation
Devlin Barrett, The Washington Post

The FBI notified Congress late Tuesday that it has “nothing to add at this time” to a statement made by President Trump’s director of national intelligence disputing the idea that Russia orchestrated the discovery of a computer that may have belonged to Joe Biden’s son. FBI Assistant Director Jill C. Tyson sent the letter to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), a Trump ally and chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, in response to his demand for more information about the computer following a series of reports by the New York Post detailing its purported contents.

Meadows to judge: Trump didn’t promise more declassification
Josh Gerstein, Politico

A pair of tweets President Donald Trump sent earlier this month complaining about the slow pace of the release of information about the origins of the Russia investigation did not amount to a direct order to make public any additional information, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows declared in an unusual court filing Tuesday. Meadows’ parsing of the presidential tweets was prompted by a federal judge’s order last week demanding that the White House clarify whether the social media messages undercut the government’s decision to withhold portions of special counsel Robert Mueller’s final report and related FBI interview reports that are the focus of Freedom of Information Act lawsuits.

Justice Department sues Google, alleging multiple violations of federal antitrust law
Tony Romm, The Washington Post

The Justice Department on Tuesday sued Google over allegations that its search and advertising empire violated federal antitrust laws, launching what is likely to be a lengthy, bruising legal fight between Washington and Silicon Valley that could have vast implications for the entire tech industry. The federal government’s landmark lawsuit caps off a roughly year-long investigation that concluded Google wielded its digital dominance to the detriment of corporate rivals and consumers.

Trump abruptly ends ’60 Minutes’ interview before planned taping of joint appearance with Pence
Kaitlan Collins and Khalil Abdallah, CNN

President Donald Trump abruptly ended a solo interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes” Tuesday and did not return for an appearance he was supposed to tape with Vice President Mike Pence, according to multiple sources familiar with what happened. After camera crews set up at the White House on Monday, Trump sat down with host Lesley Stahl for about 45 minutes on Tuesday before he abruptly ended the interview and told the network he believed they had enough material to use, according to two sources.

US, Russia appear set to extend last remaining nuclear pact
Matthew Lee and Vladimir Isachenkov, The Associated Press

The United States and Russia inched closer Tuesday to a deal to extend their last remaining arms control pact, after U.S. threats to allow the deal to expire early next year. The two sides signaled they are ready to accept compromises to salvage the New START treaty just two weeks ahead of the U.S. presidential election in which President Donald Trump faces a strong challenge from former Vice President Joe Biden, whose campaign has accused Trump of being soft on Russia.

How the F.D.A. Stood Up to the President
Sheila Kaplan et al., The New York Times

On Sept. 23, Dr. Stephen M. Hahn left a virtual meeting of the White House’s coronavirus task force to take a call from the president’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows. Mr. Meadows was angry with Dr. Hahn, the head of the Food and Drug Administration, for pushing new guidelines for vaccine developers, according to two senior administration officials familiar with the call who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it.

Congress

Senate to vote on Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation on Oct. 26
Orion Rummler, Axios

The Senate will vote to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court next Monday, Oct. 26, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Tuesday. The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote this Thursday to advance Barrett’s nomination to the full Senate floor.

Schumer says he had ‘serious talk’ with Feinstein, sidesteps questions about Judiciary Committee post
Paul Kane, The Washington Post

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday that he has had a “serious talk” with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) after some liberal groups criticized her handling of last week’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings and requested she step aside as the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. Schumer, who has also faced doubts about his strategic moves from the most liberal activists, declined to say what steps he would take but acknowledged the problem had prompted a discussion about Feinstein holding such an important post.

Court weighs a pause in House lawsuit over Trump’s financial records
Todd Ruger, Roll Call

A federal appeals court in Washington grappled Tuesday with how to move forward on a House lawsuit to enforce subpoenas for President Donald Trump’s personal and business financial records — with judges suggesting the court might wait until this session of Congress ends Jan. 3. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held oral arguments in the long-running legal fight about committee subpoenas for Trump records from auditing firm Mazars USA and other financial institutions that date back as far as April 2019.

Graham wants to review ActBlue’s source of small-dollar contributions
Alexander Bolton, The Hill

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who has seen a tsunami of Democratic small-dollar donations flood the South Carolina Senate race, says the sources of the massive amounts of money flowing through ActBlue and other groups need to be reviewed by policymakers. Graham says that Congress has little idea who’s behind the huge inflows of money that have given his opponent, Jaime Harrison, and other Democratic challengers a major fundraising advantage over GOP incumbents in the final weeks of the campaign.

General

‘It Has Hit Us With a Vengeance’: Virus Surges Again Across the United States
Sarah Mervosh and Lucy Tompkins, The New York Times

As the coronavirus races across the country, it has reached every corner of a nursing home in Kansas, infecting all 62 residents inside. There are so few hospital beds available in North Dakota that patients sick with the virus are being ferried by ambulance to facilities 100 miles away.

Key swing states vulnerable to USPS slowdowns as millions vote by mail, data shows
Jacob Bogage and Christopher Ingraham, The Washington Post

Key swing states that may well decide the presidential race are recording some of the nation’s most erratic mail service as record numbers of Americans are relying on the U.S. Postal Service to deliver their ballots, agency data shows. Consistent and timely delivery remains scattershot as the agency struggles to right operations after the rollout, then suspension, of a major midsummer restructuring.

LeBron James on Black Voter Participation, Misinformation and Trump
Astead W. Herndon, The New York Times

More Than a Vote, the collective of athletes headlined by the basketball star LeBron James, on Wednesday will introduce its final political push before Election Day, a rapid response and advertisement operation meant to combat the spread of misinformation among younger Black voters. The initiative, which is a collaboration with the political group Win Black and includes some celebrity partners, will seek to educate younger Black voters on how to spot false political statements spreading on social media.

States

Trump’s broadsides against science put GOP governors in a bind
Dan Goldberg and Alice Miranda Ollstein, Politico

Republican governors are pleading for basic public health precautions as their states face a new wave of coronavirus cases, even as President Donald Trump downplays the pandemic’s severity and tells people to move on with their lives. The clashing messages come as large swaths of the country experience uncontrolled spread that state officials fear could swamp their already strapped health systems.

Top aide in Texas attorney general’s office terminated after accusing Ken Paxton of bribery
Emma Platoff, The Texas Tribune

Lacey Mase, one of the top aides who accused Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton of crimes including bribery and abuse of office, has been fired, she told The Texas Tribune on Tuesday evening. “It was not voluntary,” she said, but declined to comment further.

Federal appeals court won’t lift North Carolina ballot-receipt extension
Josh Gerstein, Politico

A bitterly divided federal appeals court has denied an attempt by Republicans to block an agreement by North Carolina state officials allowing absentee ballots in next month’s election to be counted if they are postmarked by Election Day and received up to nine days later. The Tar Heel State typically counts absentee ballots that arrive up to three days after the election, but last month the State Board of Elections agreed to extend that window to nine days due to the increased ballot requests related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, as well concerns about mail delays due to recent Postal Service changes.

In last-minute push, DeSantis administration urges Florida election officials to remove felons who owe fines from voting rolls
Beth Reinhard and Lori Rozsa, The Washington Post

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s administration delivered last-minute guidance to local election officials recommending measures that voting rights advocates say could intimidate or confuse voters, the latest salvo in a pitched battle over who is able to cast ballots in a state crucial to President Trump’s reelection. In a notice sent to local election officials last week, Division of Elections Director Maria Matthews urged them to remove from the voter rolls people with felony convictions who still owe court fines and fees, a move that local officials said is impossible to accomplish before Election Day.

Roughly two-thirds of Michigan’s votes will be cast early, Secretary of State Benson says
Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press

More than 3 million Michigan residents have requested absentee ballots as election season enters the home stretch,  Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said during a news conference Tuesday. Benson said almost every voter who has requested a ballot has received one and 1.5 million Michigan residents have already returned their ballots, noting there’s still time to vote before polls open on Nov. 3.

Advocacy

Elliott Broidy Pleads Guilty in Foreign Lobbying Case
Kenneth P. Vogel, The New York Times

Elliott Broidy, a former top fund-raiser for President Trump, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to conspiring to violate foreign lobbying laws as part of a covert campaign to influence the administration on behalf of Chinese and Malaysian interests. Mr. Broidy, 63, agreed to forfeit $6.6 million to the federal government and to cooperate with prosecutors on a range of potential investigations related to his fellow conspirators and others.

New teachers union boss fighting Trump, school reopening battles
Nicole Gaudiano, Politico

Becky Pringle was among the many Black mothers in the mid-1990s having “that conversation” with her teenage son about getting stopped by police: what to say, where to keep his hands, how to stand up for his rights. Pringle had seen how Black boys were disproportionately subjected to suspensions or expulsions while teaching science at Susquehanna Township Middle School in a suburb of Harrisburg, Pa. As her son prepared to get his driver’s license, she knew she had to talk to him “so that he could come home safely,” she said.

Shaken Up By Trump, Auto Lobby Eyes Impact of Biden Presidency
Keith Laing, Bloomberg

Four years of trade wars, tweets and fights over emissions regulations under President Donald Trump have fractured the auto industry’s once-reliable unified front. Now, facing a potential Joe Biden presidency that promises more onerous policies on climate change and other issues, automakers are being urged to come together in defense of common interests.

A Message from Robinhood:

What does an investor look like to you? To us, it looks like everyone.

And it seems like the world is starting to agree.

Stock owners are becoming younger and more diverse—by a lot.

So we’re meeting people with free, truly digestible financial news. Educational resources that are human, simple, and straightforward. And an app that helps you invest at your own pace, on your own terms.

Because we believe the financial system should be built to work for everyone. That’s why we’re committed to democratizing finance for all.

Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives

Trump’s attack on the debate commission is an attack on the election itself
John C. Danforth, The Washington Post

Like all members of the Commission on Presidential Debates, I have maintained a strict vow of silence regarding my personal feelings about the current presidential campaign. Now, however, that President Trump and some of his ardent supporters have attacked the commission’s integrity, I feel compelled to respond.

What a Big Biden Win Would Look Like
Sean Trende, RealClearPolitics

Over the past few weeks, I’ve looked at scenarios and non-polling indicators that, if Donald Trump wins, we might look back upon and say, “Aha, the signs were there all along!” These are examples of “what if the polls are wrong again” pieces that proliferate on the Internet.

“If There Is Another Tick Down, It’s a Total Bloodbath”: How Trump’s Self-Destructive Candidacy Could Blow up the Electoral Map
Peter Hamby, Vanity Fair

In 2008, Barack Obama’s campaign was gifted an election-night surprise on its way to 365 electoral votes: It won Indiana. The state hadn’t voted for a Democrat since Lyndon Johnson’s landslide, and just four years earlier, George W. Bush crushed John Kerry in Indiana by 21 points.

Research Reports and Polling

Democrats Gain in Georgia Senate Races as Presidential Race Remains Tied
Nate Cohn, The New York Times

A shift against President Trump among white college-educated voters in Georgia has imperiled Republicans up and down the ballot, according to a New York Times/Siena College survey on Tuesday, as Republicans find themselves deadlocked or trailing in Senate races where their party was once considered the heavy favorite.

Morning Consult